Founded in the 4th century bce by the Macedonian king Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Nicaea was an important centre in late Roman and Byzantine times—notably as the site of two councils of the early Christian church (325 and 787ce) and as an independent principality in the 13th century. The ancient city’s Roman and Byzantine ramparts, 14,520 feet (4,426 metres) in circumference, remain. The town was besieged and conquered in 1331 by the Ottoman Turks, who renamed it İznik and built the Green Mosque (1378–91).

İznik’s prosperity, which was interrupted by the competing growth of nearby Istanbul as an Ottoman centre after 1453, revived in the 16th century with the introduction of faience pottery making. İznik subsequently became famous for its magnificent tiles, but, after the workshops were transferred to Istanbul about 1700, İznik began to decline. Its economy suffered a further blow with the construction of a major railway bypassing the town. Today İznik is a small market town and administrative centre for the surrounding district. Pop. (2000) 20,169; (2013 est.) 22,507.

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382 bc 301 Ipsus, Phrygia, Asia Minor [now in Turkey] Macedonian general under Alexander the Great who founded the Macedonian dynasty of the Antigonids (306–168 bc), becoming king in 306. An exceptional strategist and combat leader, he was also an astute ruler who cultivated the friendship...

the ancient empire, centred on the city of Rome, that was established in 27 bce following the demise of the Roman Republic and continuing to the final eclipse of the Empire of the West in the 5th century ce. A brief treatment of the Roman Empire follows. For full treatment, see ancient Rome.

the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived for a thousand years after the western half had crumbled into various feudal kingdoms and which finally fell to Ottoman Turkish onslaughts in 1453. Byzantine emperors* Byzantine emperors* Zeno 474–491 Anastasius I 491–518 Justin I...